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Rwanda: Questions as French Minister Visits Great Lakes Region
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The Nation (Nairobi)
30 January 2008
Posted to the web 30 January 2008
Kezio-Musoke David
Kigali
France has offered an olive branch by sending an emissary, the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, to her former colony Rwanda. Mr Kouchner, upon his arrival in Kigali admitted that France must have failed somewhere politically in Rwanda.
But, Mr Kouchner insisted that despite the political failings the French bore no "military responsibility" for the 1994 genocide that led to the massacre of close to a million Rwandese.
Mr Kouchner said: "It was certainly a political fault ... we didn't understand what happened. But there was no military responsibility."
This is probably why there has always been a diplomatic gap between the two countries.
But, the question many are asking is; "Is there any hope of bridging the gap between the two, if the French are still insisting they had no military role in the genocide?'
Both countries have in the past traded accusations over involvement in the 1994 genocide.
As a way of encouraging a "truth and reconciliation process" Rwanda, almost a decade ago independently decided to probe France's role in the events that happened during the genocide.
A probe committee called The Mucyo Commission, christened after the name of it's presiding president, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, was set up by the Rwandan government to adduce evidence of France's role in the genocide.
During some public hearings, covered by the local press, Mr Mucyo's commission heard from many witnesses, interestingly including some French nationals testifying against the French military.
The French government then under Mr Jacques Chirac, a conformist in nature, pushed French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere to implicate Rwandan President Paul Kagame and nine of his top officials in the assassination of former Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana.
Were almost based
Mr Habyarimana, whose policies were almost based on an architectural background provided by Mr Chirac's government died in a plane crash that also killed then Burundian president Cyprien Ntiryamira, a French crew and some others.
It is believed that the death of Mr Habyarimana sparked off the events that led to the killings of millions during the genocide.
Judge Bruguiere's undiplomatic actions including issuing arrest warrants on a leader of another sovereign state, were definitely seen by many as diversionary, a position that was widely intended to distract any Rwanda probe and camouflage any findings or forestall the work of the Mucyo Commission.
As a result, in November 2006, Kigali severed all diplomatic ties with Paris. Everything French was purged except for probably French fries.
Rwanda's joining the East African Community (EAC) and application to join another Anglophone club; the Commonwealth also intrigued the French and further weakened France's influence in the Great Lakes region.
The question is: Was France losing another of her former colonies?
Rwanda justified her EAC move by saying, "most of our trading partners are in the East African region, and better or worse still (for the French) they are Anglophones. As for the Commonwealth, a big chunck of Rwanda's foreign aid is supported by the British Department for International Development (DFID).
Judge Bruguiere's summons of their leaders didn't divert Rwandans. Mr Mucyo proceeded with his probe commission and finalised work late last year producing a 500-page report that is yet to go public.
While probing the killings, members of the Mucyo Commission heard from French nationals who said the French military and politicians actively supported and directly participated in training genocide protagonists.
Witnesses including international journalists and two celebrated British writers Andrew Wallis and Linda Melvern testified that there was a certain degree of killings done by French soldiers, who operated under the auspices of the UN troops within Rwandan borders.
Mr Wallis the author of the International bestseller, Silent Accomplice, a book that explored the role played by France in facilitating the genocide, wrote that the French carried out atrocities under what was then called Zone Turquoise, a humanitarian operation meant to create escape routes for the fleeing victims.
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Mr Wallis particularly said that Zone Turquoise Operation worsened when the French military wooed the 'would be' victims out of their hiding, particularly in Bisesero Hills and thereafter shielded the Interahamwe militia during their subsequent exodus to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Thanks Musoke for your report on the visit of French Foreign Ministers visit to the Great Lakes Region: What is missing in your report is the part played by Rwanda Patriotic Front(RPF), Paulo Kagame and M7 in Uganda visa avis the shooting down of Habyalimana's plane in Kigali. The French Government is not stupid to incliminate Kagame with no facts on the ground. Believe it or not one day these facts are going to be out in the open! By severing diplomatic ties with France won't help Paulo Kagame and M7 in Uganda. Switching ties from Paris to London will... [Read Full Text]
This is in reply to the comment made about the shooting of the president...This i believe is a tactic by many hutu extremists and their sympathisers to derail the worlds attention on what happened in Rwanda. By trying to implicate the current Government, as mentioned in the Article the Hutu extremist who have setup base in France use that a way to slow the truth.
The former presidents death was by his own men, who feared his signing of the Arusha peace accords and thought he had pressured into sharing power with the RPF..or should i say INYENZI..since thats what... [Read Full Text]
"her former colony Rwanda" ? Please note that Rwanda has never been a French colony...
Of course you may say that the relationship between France and Rwanda/Burundi after the 1970s was "neo-colonialist", but what I mean is that these countries, before gaining their independance in 1961, had been colonies of Germany and Belgium, not France.
Yes rwandan was a colony of germany and belgium but putting things right between the two countries is a good step for situation to be corrected and peace to be allowed without any biased mind.Rwandans has to be careful and be diplomatic in situations like this.Rwandans has to stand on thier feet, knowing this we Africans are the one that can solve some of our problems. kudos to president PAUL KAGAME MAY GOD CONTINUE TO ORDER HIS STEPS he is a man who understand his peoples desire. LONG LIFE RWANDA LONG LIFE NIGERIA
Bullshit!! Rwanda has never been the colony of France!!
Very missleading!!
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